Weird Fish in the Mission District

A vegetarian friend in the Bay Area recommended that we go to Weird Fish in the Mission District for lunch for something typically Californian (think fresh, fresh, fresh) and on a budget. The menu pleases non-vegetarian and vegetarians alike with a variety of options, including vegan ones. Even better, Weird Fish takes on the principles of eating local and sustainable and even tries to farm most of its own produce.

Weird Fish has a cozy little space on Mission Street. It is a bit reminiscent of being on a bright ship without all that pirate cheesiness. The decorative details show an appreciation for local art and the music is pretty good. If you look closely at the artwork above the kitchen area, you can spot a little vented window where the office presumably is. Only when someone is up there moving around do you actually notice. Very sneaky.

The veggie tacos had sweet potato (for that day), mango salsa, slaw, and vegan crema. The bright colors jump out immediately evoking thoughts of the peak of freshness personified is about to be consumed. The sweet potato was prepared in a way that brought out the girth of its savory qualities. There was no skimping with ingredients to build the taco. However light it tasted, the veggie tacos were surprisingly filling for its size.

The Seitan N Chips plate had soy battered house seitan with housemade fries, vegan tartar, and slaw. Seitan, "wheat gluten," "gluten meat," or "wheat meat" is made from wheat starch or vial wheat gluten and washing away the starches leaving only an elastic mass that is insoluble high-protein gluten. It becomes similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked, serving as an alternative substitute to tofu. Different textures can be achieved and it can be flavored a variety of ways. Seitan was first developed in China and is popular among Southeast Asian countries. Those who require a glut-free diet be warned though gluten-free seitan is available. The pieces of fried seitan were just huge though the batter coating could allow one to easily mistake it for true fish. The seitan substitute for fish was mildly flavored, though slightly more chewy than anticipated. The texture was that of a solid piece of moist fish rather than being flaky or over-cooked and dry. The red cabbage slaw added some bite and contrast to the fried seitan. The chips were newly fried, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Veggie Tacos and Seitan N Chips
The weird fish that is not really fish at Weird Fish sets this restaurant apart. For every fish dish there is an alternative answer to it on the menu. Amazing. One can definitely appreciate this balance.

Weird Fish. 2193 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, United States. Tel: +1.415.863.4744. Closed Sundays. WeirdFishSF.com.

glo London Shanghai Giant Lemon Meringues

Whilst living in London, I was introduced to the giant meringues in plain, raspberry, and chocolate piled high at the bakery entrance on the ground floor of Whole Foods on Kensington High Street. The meringues were as large as a small, round bread loaf and hardly colored with a hard, crisp exterior and a soft, sticky interior. Some may consider the meringue flavorless sugar, but the egg whites carry its own subtle flavor should you take the time to look and appreciate it. The way the meringue would melt against the heat of the tongue was wondrous.

Apparently, there are three different types of meringues (and unfortunately I lack the baking knowledge to know which method was used to create the giang meringues): French meringue (hard) with its delicate texture is made by adding sugar in stages to beaten egg whites before being baked or poached, Italian meringue (soft) uses a hot sugar and water syrup at soft-ball stage to "cook" the egg whites while beating making it the most stable type of meringue; and Swiss meringue (hard), which has a firmer texture than French meringue, where the egg whites and sugar are beaten over a double-boiler. The hard meringues are baked at extremely low temperatures to draw out the moisture and not color the meringues. When the temperature is too warm, the sugars will crystalize and color the meringue or the outside of the meringue will set before the inside, creating that hard-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside effect.

Baker and Spice's Anfu Lu location started selling chocolate meringues sprinkled with raw, sliced almonds. It would have been nice with a little more variety of flavor, but you could get your giant meringue fix here.

A few months ago, glo London Bakery finally opened on the ground floor of the glo London complex on Wulumuqi Nan Lu. Their meringue selection looked more promising with a giant lemon variety and a chocolate one that was overpowered by thick ribbons of chocolate (the meringue should be tasted as well!). The lemon meringue is decorated with fine shavings of lemon and lime zests, which is also on the inside of the meringue when it is cracked open. There is a hole in the giant meringue when it is split in half. The meringues first had a crisp outside and soft inside with bits of lemon and lime zest adding a nice tartness to the sticky soft interior. Over time and many visits, the meringues have been cooked longer and are slightly browned at the bottom, perhaps to avoid the soft interior for a perfectly hard, giant meringue. Personally, I kind of miss the gooeyness found encased in hard meringue. The lemon meringue is not overpowered by citrus flavors and is light and enjoyable.


glo London. 1 Wulumuqi Lu (by Dongping lu) / 乌鲁木齐路1号 (近东平路), Shanghai 200031, China. Tel: +86 21 6466 6565. glolondon.com

Reberg Beer - Locally Brewed in Shanghai

If Harry Potter was really drinking butterbeer, the favored drink in the wizarding world of magic, he would be drinking Reberg light. One whiff of the Reberg light beer and the aroma of butter immediately warms your nose. Whoa, butterbeer come to life in the Muggle world. It also has notes of sweet bread (not the meaty kind), hazelnut, caramel, and a hint of butterscotch, though not at all too sweet or sugary. The beer is full in your mouth, but not too filling for your stomach. Reberg is a German-style beer brewed an hour outside the center of Shanghai, China, and comes in a light and dark variety. The beer is kept in a special metal cannister with seal as it has so much carbonation it would blow the top off a regular beer bottle. It does not have a long shelf-life as it is good for only seven days, but is best drank the first three days before it starts to sour a little. Therefore, Reberg would be difficult to find this beer at your local store since stocking it would be difficult. This is quite unfortunate, but it is available at Madison for 38RMB a bottle for both the light and dark variety (both pictured with the use of a friend's camera phone). Since it is brewed locally, it is considerably cheaper than imported craft beers, but not as cheap as Tsing-Tao or Suntory.

J.K. Rowling claimed in a Bon Appetit interview (2002) that she "imagined it to taste like a bit less-sickly butterscotch." Most recipes found online use cream soda, butterscotch, and butter, which seems really rich and too sugary or closer to sickenly sweet. The books also indicate that butterbeer has the power to get house-elves drunk or dependent on and can lower inhibitions of humans, just as the alcohol content in beer is able to.

Reberg. www.rebergbeer.com

Devilicious and Food Truck Fabulousness

Summer is when Hillcrest gets ultra-fab and not just because of the incredible San Diego, but also to mark Pride weekend. Local San Diego food trucks gathered together at the San Diego LGBT Community Center for Food Truck Fabulousness, a benefit for the AIDS Walk in San Diego. It was also fitting that this particular event took place on the eve of SD Pride, a great kick-off for the weekend. Proceeds from Food Truck Fabulousness went to AIDS Walk and Run San Diego and visitors could also donate themselves at the free event. For those that have been hunting down a few of these trucks, this gathering made it a lot easier to find the vendors you want to try. I was after the butter poached lobster grilled cheese sandwich from the Devilicious Food Truck.

Devilicious Food Truck greeted everyone right at the entrance of The Center's parking lot and a few visitors were commenting on its participation in the Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race. Even at 18:00 there was a short queue. A short wait after paying US$9.00 for the butter poached lobster grilled cheese and $4.00 for truffled parmesan fries, the order came out very hot so you know it was made to order (at least at this hour). The butter poached lobster grilled cheese made with lobster, some sort of melted cheese, caramelized onion, oven-roasted roma tomatoes and herbs on sourdough.



The hot butter poached lobster grilled cheese sandwich felt decadently buttery upon first touch. It smelled buttery with the lingering aroma of lobster. It was definitely cheesy. The presence of the oven-roasted roma tomatoes was not very pronounced, blending in more with the caramelized onion. The lobster was cut into large chunks and not lost among the rest of the sandwich components to remind you that lobster is the co-starring with the cheese. The texture was definitely there, but the lobster flavor was a lot lighter than expected. It still was pretty tasty.

The truffled parmesan fries had black flecks from the truffles and covered with large shavings of parmesan. The parmesan cheese had a silkier texture and milder taste, which made me think that an aged Asiago was used instead as it takes on a flavor similar to parmigiano with age and is interchangeable with paremsan in some cuisines.

After looking at the Devilicious online menu, I am really curious about this asparagus grilled cheese sandwich made with goat cheese.

Here are a few more shots of Food Truck Fabulousness. I was actually wondering what an "Italian Lollipop" (offered by Mangia Mangia) was. The white chocolate macadamia nut cookies from Sweet Treats made a yummy dessert with big chunks of white chocolate and a chewy texture. Breaking it in big pieces was also quite easy.


From left to right: Sweet Treats cookie display, white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and whoopie pies from Sweet Treats, Mangia Mangia menu, Food Truck Fabulousness
Food truck gatherings are definitely a way to sample more in one place. One would be so lucky to have their favorite truck park regularly nearby.

Devilicious Food Truck. Check schedule for location details. San Diego, California. DeviliciousFoodTruck.com
Sweet Treats Truck. Check schedule for location details. San Diego, California. SweetTreatsTruck.com
Mangia Mangia Truck. Check schedule for location details. San Diego, California. MangiaMangiaMobile.com
San Diego LGBT Community Center. 3909 Centre Street, San Diego, CA. theCenterSD.org

Gran Melia's Acqua Pizza and Beer Promotion

Acqua Italian Restaurant's Pizza Salami and Pizza Proscuitto e Funghi
Acqua Italian Restaurant at the Gran Melia Shanghai in Pudong has an unlimited pizza and draught Tiger beer promotion for 88RMB or 101RMB after a 15% service charge on Fridays from 18:00-22:30 (until September 1, as advertised on CityWeekend). Restaurants in luxury hotels in Asia have a reputation of particularly good fare. Unfortunately, this was not the case at Acqua. The service was impeccable, however. The host promptly escorted us to our table and beer was immediately served. During the entire stay, the beer level in each glass never went below the halfway point as the draught Tiger was stealthily poured so as not to interrupt the conversation. The Tiger beer kept flowing until the restaurant ran out of beer an hour before the promotion ended. Other tables were also wondering why the restaurant was not supplied enough beer to last the duration of the promotion. The host informed us that beer was being brought from the 30th floor, but it was only bottles of Tsing Tao beer, which were poured into our empty glasses. The selected pizzas for the promotion were: margherita, salami (sausage), vegetariano (black olives with red and yellow peppers), prosciutto e funghi, and marinara (shrimp and tuna). The crust of the pizza was not super thin, but had great blackened blisters on its underside. The toppings were horrendous. The pizzas looked and tasted like meat or no meat in yellow, red, and brown, regardless of the variety chosen. Intead of pork sausage, it appeared to be pieces of pork. Pizza prosciutto e funghi was the best one, but in place of paper-thin slivers of prosciutto were thick slices of ham. The upside is the pizzas were not greasy and the kitchen obliged requests for tobasco, Chinese chili sauce, balsamic vinegar (in the form of a sweet, thick balsamic reduction), and dried oregano or basically anything to add complexity to an otherwise flat-tasting pizza. After drinking all the beer in the restaurant does the pizza start to really taste good. The only worthy part of this promotion is the unlimited Tiger draught beer (while supplies last). Maybe the regular menu at Acqua Italian Restaurant at Gran Melia Shanghai is inversely better as the pizza was poor?

Acqua. Gran Melia Shanghai, 2/F, 1288 Lujiazui Huan Lu (near Dongyuan Lu). 陆家嘴环路1288号2楼 (近东园路), Shanghai, China. Tel: 86 (021) 3867 8888. www.gran-melia-shanghai.com

McFlurry International - Rolo McFlurry in the United States

McDonald's is known for its taste standard, which is tasting exactly the same at whatever location you happen to visit anywhere in the world. The appeal of the McFlurry is that the McDonald's vanilla soft-serve is combined with different flavors, specializing the McFlurry by region or county. Even abroad, my Twitter feed blew up with the announcement of the Rolo McFlurry. For those not acquainted with the Rolo, it is a milk chocolate shell filled with caramel in the shape of a truncated cone. The thick shell of chocolate means ratio of chocolate to caramel is slightly higher and the caramel filling is also soft to almost solid.

The Rolo McFlurry is mashed up Rolos, which looked more like pieces of milk chocolate shell, and a swirl of caramel sauce.

Snack size (US$1.99) is 340-430 calories while the regular (US$2.69) is 510-640 calories. Also on the menu were the classic Oreo and M&M flavors. It is not clear exactly where the Rolo McFlurry is on the calorie scale, but chances are it is on the higher side.

The server who made the Rolo McFlurry at the Southcoast Plaza location visited in California put heaping spoonfuls of Rolo and a thick squeeze of caramel in the McFlurry cup with its protective lid to prevent spillage. It was haphazardly mixed together by hand and looked like a gorgeous mess, though maybe not well-mixed. After I started taking a photo of it, the server offered to make a second "better looking" one (and better mixed using the McFlurry machine). I took the server up on this offer but was immediately mortified when she threw it away instead of just giving it to some kid passing by as a mistake order. In the below photos, you can see the first Rolo McFlurry compared to the second.

Oh...It was good. Plenty of thick caramel sauce and chocolate chunks throughout the soft-serve ice cream. The actual portion was up to the top of the cup instead of halfway, the way it usually comes out in China (that is what that special lid is for!). Rolo in McFlurry form...yum.


McFlurry photos on the left are the first McFlurry while the second one made is on the right

McFlurry International - China 4

It appears that in honor of Kung Fu Panda 2, McDonald's in China (that is Màidāngláo, 麦当劳) is featuring the special Red Bean McFlurry. If you want a direct translation it is more "Red Bean Taste (hóngdòu kǒuwèi, 红豆口味)," which is a more accurate description of how this McFlurry (麦旋风, mài xuànfēng) is flavored. Perhaps this is an allusion to the red panda, which is a distant relative to the giant panda featured in the film. The server at the counter informs us that buying two McFlurrys is a better deal at 15RMB instead of one at 10RMB.

To make the hóngdòu kǒuwèi mài xuànfēng or 红豆口味麦旋风, red bean flavor syrup and Oreo pieces are mixed in with the vanilla soft-serve ice cream. The red bean flavor is not at all strong and is perhaps over-sweetened. One customer thought the McFlurry tasted like artificial strawberry instead of red bean, a belief furthered by the pink hue the ice cream took on. The McDonald's version of "red bean taste" could be described as a light, musky berry flavor. Only at the bottom of the cup were one or two actual red beans found to provide authenticity. More real red beans mixed in would make this version of the McFlurry slightly more appealing.

Lòushì Tāngbāoguǎn 陋室汤包馆

Everyone has their local xiǎolóngbāo 小笼包 or tāngbāo 汤包 spot, granted some are better than others and you may travel farther for a better soup dumpling (like Jia Jia Tang Bao, for example). Lòushì Tāngbāoguǎn 陋室汤包馆 (lòushì 陋室 meaning "common room" and tāngbāoguǎn 汤包馆 for "soup dumpling shop/shack") serves the vicinity around Nanchang Lu between Shaanxi Nan Lu and Xiangyang Lu.

Xiǎolóngbāo 小笼包 ("soup dumpling") versus tāngbāo 汤包 ("soup bun") - what is the difference? The Chowhound boards noted that tāngbāo has a greater emphasis on the soup than the meat, but otherwise, they are generally the same thing. After speaking with a few Shanghainese, the consensus is the larger soup dumplings you can eat with a straw should be referred to as "tāngbāo," but otherwise they are all the same. Xiǎolóngbāo 小笼包 is the same as tāngbāo 汤包 depending on what you feel like calling it. These juicy little parcels are not exclusive to Shanghai though because other areas, like Suzhou, have their own version of the soup dumpling. Hence, the characters at the bottom of the Lòushì Tāngbāoguǎn 陋室汤包馆 sign saying "Nánjīng tè sè xiǎochī 南京特色小吃" or "Nanjing special quality/kind snack."


The menu only has three versions of soup dumpling: Lòushì tāngbāo 陋室汤包 (their speciality or simply just pork soup dumplings); xièfěn 蟹粉 or crab meal (and pork); and xiārén 虾仁 or shrimp meat. Being an afternoon snack, the house specialty or pork and the crab and pork soup dumplings were ordered. There were still some pork soup dumplings in the steamers at the entrance, which came out first. The crab and pork ones took about 10 minutes to steam to perfection. The pork tāngbāo was quite soupy and the wrapper was a bit thick on top where it was pinched together. It tasted a tad oily and not freshly made, but was still satisfying. The crab and pork tāngbāo was really savory with bits of crab meat and plenty of soup inside the dumpling. The crab flavor was not overwhelming and the meat inside the dumpling held together. The wrapper had a similar issue at being a bit too thick at the top, but by rolling it over a little and biting a little hole at the side gives you that first hot soup.



Left to right from top: Lòushì tāngbāo 陋室汤包, the inside of the pork soup dumpling, xièfěn tāngbāo 蟹粉汤包, inside of the crab and pork soup dumpling, steamers outside
Lòushì Tāngbāoguǎn is not a particularly fancy place, but the crab and pork soup dumplings are great and the dumplings are definitely not lacking on the soup.

Lòushì Tāngbāoguǎn 陋室汤包馆. 601 Nanchang Lu (by Xiangyang Lu), Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Seasonal Vegetable Torta

Technology definitely helps to indulge gastronomic senses through the ability to share beautiful photos of dishes and tips and tricks to spruce up cooking. Browsing the internet, I came across these gorgeous photos of a sort of crustless quiche baked in a smaller springform with a height that displays the marbelization of the colorful summer vegetables used. The ingredient list was not so demanding (as in cost, aside from the cheese, and easily accessible) and could be substituted for other seasonal vegetables.

When putting together the actual torta, I used milk instead of heavy cream. I also opted to roast red peppers myself to intensify the sweetness of the red pepper and add a hint of smokiness. After the vegetables finished sauteing, I put them in a strainer to drain off extra liquid instead of using a slotted spoon to remove as much excess water as possible. While baking, the top of the torta puffed and browned more than in the photo of the original recipe, but I am not sure how much the change in milk fat content in the egg mixture affected the texture or because it was being baked in a glorified toaster oven. In any case, the resulting vegetable torta was just as pretty as well as light, savory, and delicious hot or cold. It was great as a side or a snack. A big slice could do as a main course. I am tempted to try this recipe again with asparagus tips and more leafy greens.

Vegetable marbelization
Summer Vegetable Torta (adapted)

3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 red peppers, sliced into 1/4 inch strips OR 1 12 oz jar marinated red peppers,
drained and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups shredded Gruyère

Preheat oven to 350F and brush bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with oil. Line bottom with parchment and brush parchment with oil. Wrap outside of pan with aluminum foil.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and fresh peppers, if using. Saute until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Put sauteed vegetables in strainer to drain of excess liquid.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs until combined (it's okay if it's a little lumpy). Beat in cream or half and half. Stir in garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Add sauteed vegetables to egg mixture, then add drained marinated peppers, if using. Add shredded cheese. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine.

Spread mixture in prepared pan and set pan on baking sheet. Bake for 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours or until top is puffy and golden brown and the center no longer jiggles when shaken. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in pan, then run a sharp knife around edges of torta to loosen. Gently remove pan sides. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

Serves 8 (large slices). Each serving has 8.25g of carbs and 1.5g of fiber.

Oven Roasting Red Peppers

When perusing the Internet for recipes that are simple and easy, some of the ingredients that are cheap at your local market in the States are Europe cost about ten-fold in China, especially in Shanghai. I wanted more than to just cut thin strips of red peppers and throw it in the pan. There is a smokey flavor carried by red peppers from roasting and that should be going into my dish. Roasting also intensifies the flavors of the red peppers. Unfortunately, I am not willing to fork out all that renminbi to go to an expensive expat-oriented supermarket to buy (fire)roasted red peppers preserved in oil with some garlic or herbs. The Food Network showed one of its chefs or cooks doing it at home, bringing you to the mantra of "If [Yan] can cook, so can you!" Hear, hear.

My kitchen in China is ill-equipped. There are no tongs; only chopsticks. Trying to fire the exterior of red peppers over a gas-flame using wooden chopsticks seemed risky to me. There is also no built-in oven, but a glorified toaster oven of relatively large size. Produce is often tricky because a lot of it has been bred and engineered to look good, not taste good (e.g. tomatoes). I ended up at the Avocado Lady and bought a couple unblemished red peppers. Now to hope for the best.

The red peppers went on a piece of aluminum foil on a small pan and was placed in a pre-heated oven (mine ranged between 400-450°F). About every 15 minutes, after the skins formed dark splotches, the red peppers were turned using chopsticks. After every side of the red peppers were a bit black, I took them out of the oven, put them in a bowl, and covered the bowl to steam the red peppers. This allows the skins to separate from the flesh so it is easy to remove. The red peppers generally held its original shape coming out, but quickly deflated. When the red peppers are cool enough to handle, the skins slip right off with a bit of rubbing. And you never want to rinse the red peppers after they come out of the oven because you will just wash away the smokey quality. These peppers looked, smelled, and tasted just as good as the imported ones. They can be preserved in extra-virgin olive oil with some herbs and garlic, if desired. Save yourself the cash and do it yourself.

Red peppers straight from the oven, red peppers steaming in a bowl
Oven Roasted Red Peppers
Red Peppers

Pre-heat oven to 450°F / 230°C. Arrange red peppers on a cookie sheet lined with foil and roast in the oven, turning about every 15 minutes or when dark splotches form. Do this until the red peppers are roasted all the way through, about 30-40 minutes. When the peppers are done, remove them from the oven and place in a covered bowl to steam to make the skins easier to peel off. Once peppers are cooled, remove the skins and discard with your hands or a paring knife. Pull the top of the red pepper off and remove the seeds. Remember to never rinse or wash the peppers at this point.